Ancient India

Comments (0)

Transcript of Ancient India

World HistoryGroup Independent Study UnitBy: David, Doreen, Stephanie, Thea Mae and Victoria Four-headed God of WisdomThe Morals Don’t let desire and anger cloud your judgmentThere should be no erotic behavior or relationship between father and daughterAdultery should not be committedThe Existential QuestionHow did we get on this earth?Themes Birth (sexuality/mortality)Desire – wanted daughterBody/mind – god of wisdom

Myth Analysis Believed that Indus people worshiped a great god Used images of animals, ex. bull, buffalo and tiger, in religious ritualsIndus Valley/Harappan Caste system – interwoven with Hinduism Brahmins (priests and scholars - used to be 2nd, eventually became top because of their importance), --> Religious hierarchy - like Christianity Shiva aiming an arrow at Brahma (the stag)BrahmaP.E.R.S.I.A.T.PoliticalThe Harappan Civilization – (2500 BCE) 2 ancient cities – Harappa and Mohenjo Daro -->

Athens & Sparta Both cities were large and carefully planned out Strong and organized government – store and distribute a massive amount of food (enough to feed 35,000 people) --> Maslow - food

Vedic Age – (1500 BCE-1000 BCE) Indo-Aryans conquered northern IndiaMagadha Most powerful kingdom under the rule of King Bimbisara (540 BCE)First ones to try to unify most of India Became India’s first empire--> City state --> Republic --> EmpireThe Great Baths of Mohenjo DaroPriest-KingThe SignificancesTeaches us that this culture is driven by love, lust and desire Love is pain – loving someone you can’t have Desire led to his temptation

LegaciesRape cultureMedia displays the sexual behavior between father and daughterMovies: Precious Game of ThronesBook: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Modern day stories that deal with the themeDocumentary: Are All Men Pedophiles?1 in 4 North American women will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime93 women are raped every day King Bimbisara

As Magadha began to decline, Chandragupta Maurya start the Mauryan Empire Held almost all of India (except southern tip)No slavery – “all Indians are free and no one is a slave”

Shakas from the west, resolved between marriage ties --> Alexander the Great forced his men to wed Persian brides for political ties

The Formative PeriodThe Age of the Kushans

Muslims arrived, settles on the west coast and set up trading coloniesMuslim conquests in southern India, Ala-ud-din Khalji invaded southern Indian kingdoms and successfully came back with camels, elephants and treasures

Muslim ruleMuslims treated Hindus as equal partners, abolished ziziya taxAurangjeb: last Mughal emperor – re-imposed ziziya tax on Hindus, discriminated, and gave orders to destroy all Hindu templesConquered territories in south, when he died in 1707, Mughal empire died with him

Political Union of the Mughal empire--> Himalayas protected the north from invaders from the rest of Asia--> Hilly landscape made reuniting of its people hard --> resulting in different diverse social groupsEconomyThe geography and climate of India effects it’s cropsGanges River, Indus River Crops depend on monsoons because most of the rain India gets is during this season --> Like Egypt – the flooding of the Nile influenced the calendar and the crops

Vedas – oldest sacred books of Hinduism 1400BCE – The Book of the DeadThe Brahmins (priests) preformed sacrifices, and believed that sacrifices controlled the cosmosSanskrit later become language of priests and their rituals

The Vedic AgeVedasSiddhartha Gautama becomes “the Enlightened One” or the Buddha (525 BCE)Salvation comes from knowing the “Four Noble Truths” following the “Eightfold Path” Believed anyone could reach nirvana despite caste groupsTaught that the Vedas weren’t actually sacred teachingsGo through the cycle of life samsara until they are liberated (becomes Buddha the “awakened one”)

BuddhismIntroduced into India was the cultural Islamic heritage of Arabia, Persia and central AsiaCross Cultural Interaction: Hindus & MuslimsFun Fact!Panchatantra - been translated into more languages than any other book except the BibleReligionSocialHad protections, but did not have the same rights as mencould not own property or study sacred writingsSuttee: widows committed suicide by throwing themselves on top of their husband’s flaming funeral pyres (sometimes required in upper castes)

Not So Fun FactWomenAge 6 of wealthy class boys - start education; studied, played and were taught by mentors selected by their parents Curriculum: Taught arts and sciences, martial arts, use of weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, and riding elephants & horsesGirls of wealthy families - taught to read, write, dance and paint by female tutors – Sparta educationDaily lifeExercises - wooden clubs and yoga, elaborate bath, fresh, perfumed clothes and a turban-like hat were put onMen: business interests, played chess or other board gamesDaily routine (young wealthy man)Fun Fact!Man with status usually had an art gallery full of paintingsRICEPork and fishEducation: very basic, reading writing, arithmeticPoor students did chores to pay for their primary school teacherChildren of lower castes only learned crafts and tradeCommon folk

Early Vedic (1000 BCE) – started using iron and copper tools Indo-Aryans used iron (800 BCE)

CitadelPolitics 1. Who is this?2. Who guarded Chandragupta?Economy3. First gold coins in India were made by melting gold _________ ________4. The Greeks referred to _________ as “wool that grows on trees"Religion5. What is this?6. What book been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible?Social7. What is this?8. What were widows who committed suicide by throwing themselves on top of their husband’s flaming funeral pyres called?Intellectual10. What famous Buddhist university is this?9. What was ancient India's form of writing?Artistic11. What are these Buddhist caves called?12. What is this building called?Technological 13. What is this called?Bonus Question!14. What were the two literary epics called?Art from Golden age